


Fever Dream

by Bubonicc



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Curses, Dream worlds, M/M, knight/king AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-14 22:09:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16921326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bubonicc/pseuds/Bubonicc
Summary: Night after night, Gabriel is plagued by the same dream and the same man who at first seemed mysterious before begging him for help.





	Fever Dream

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mediocrite](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mediocrite/gifts).



> Part of the r76 secret santa exchange, Prompts being dream worlds and curses, and I decided to mix the two together. I've also really wanted to try writing something with Knight!Jack and King!Gabriel and since Au's were allowed, I crafted his piece here. Really enjoyed working on this, maybe something I would really like to blow up into something large one day. For now I hope you enjoy it, it was fun to work on.

No matter what, Gabriel’s dreams always started off the same. Placed in the center of a forest he didn’t quite recognize, he would find himself wandering. Sometimes it would feel like he had been wandering for days- other times, mere moments- but no matter what, time seemed still and his destination always the same. It hadn’t mattered if he turned around and walked in the completely opposite direction or took a completely different path than before, he always found himself face to face with that man.

       With beautiful glowing blond hair and the most vibrant blue eyes Gabriel had ever seen, the man was always there in every dream. Sometimes Gabriel would find him wandering like himself, other times he would find him resting against a tree looking intently off in the distance.

       When the dreams had first started, Gabriel had kept his distance, continuing to wander only to find himself back wherever that man was resting. 

       By the third week of these recurring dreams, Gabriel had decided to approach the man. What was the worst that could happen? It was just a dream after all. A dream that seemed to haunt him not only at night but in the mornings as well, leaving him exhausted and confused as to why this had been happening. 

       It had all seemed far too real after a certain point. The strange consciousness Gabriel had felt inside his own dream state seemed unnatural. It felt more like he was walking between realms rather than the sleepy state of his mind. The wind felt real, the leaves that brushed against his skin as he walked through the unending forest felt real, and the man who kept appearing to him seemed all too real and so much more handsome with each passing dream.

       When Gabriel had finally decided to approach the man, he had been spooked to find out no matter what direction he advanced from, the man would always look in his direction. Even if Gabriel had come at him from behind or in what he believed was a blind spot, the man always looked up and locked eyes with him.

       Gabriel’s heart pounded against his chest, expecting the man to bolt or maybe attack him, but instead… he just smiled softly. As if he knew Gabriel, the man just gave him a wistful look before turning his gaze back off into the far forest. Outside of that, the man never moved from wherever Gabriel would find him, never speak, or even look in his direction again. 

       For months, he hadn’t understood what any of it could mean. Who was this man, and why was he haunting Gabriel’s dreams? Why did he look at him with those big, sad blue eyes every time? Why couldn’t he just… dream of something else? Gabriel didn’t know, but he was going to find out.

       The first time Gabriel had approached the man with the intent to confront him, he found him not resting against a tree like usual, but waist deep in a shallow pool below a beautiful waterfall. As far as Gabriel could tell from his distance, the man had been nude from the waist up and occasionally bent down to cup water into his hands and splash it against his face. Upon further observation, Gabriel watched him scrub his arms and chest, repeating the same motions over and over until Gabriel finally decided to move forwards.

       As per usual, upon reaching a certain distance, the blond man scrubbed his face and glanced over his shoulder in Gabriel’s direction. Their eyes locked briefly, and he mysterious man’s deep blue eyes watched Gabriel as he moved further out into the open.

       Averting his gaze, the man continued to scrub himself, seeming to ignore Gabriel as he walked to the water’s edge and looked around the area.

       They were alone here, but then again, Gabriel had always found himself alone with this man. No matter how much he searched the endless forest, it was always just the two of them in the end. 

       “Who are you?” Gabriel spoke after clearing his throat, nerves suddenly prickling up his spin when the man in the pool rubbed his eyes and turned to him. In that moment, Gabriel felt his heart flutter behind his chest. He had to resist the urge of bringing his hand up to make sure it didn’t flutter right out when he finally got a closer look at the man’s face.

       The water glistened on the man’s sun kissed skin, and he blinked again, blue eyes vivid as they widened at Gabriel’s new distance. Surprise colored his cheeks as he turned, now facing Gabriel a moment before wading over towards where he was standing.

       Tensing at this, Gabriel took a cautious step back as the man swam close to the grassy bank and set his arms down on it. Making no move to rise from the water, he just waded there, staring at Gabriel a moment before suddenly he spoke.

       “Jack.” Jack’s voice echoed around Gabriel as if there had been more than one of him all around. A quick glance over his shoulder had proved that false, but still, the voice had a soft echo despite its harsh raspy nature. 

       Rubbing his beard and giving one more look around the area to make sure the two of them truly had been alone, Gabriel knelt down to get closer to Jack’s height.

“       King Gabriel-.” Gabriel had managed to sat before Jack’s arm had shot out of the water and grabbed his forearm. With a grip like iron, he tugged Gabriel close to him, eyes suddenly full of horror.

       “Help me, Gabriel.”

       It had all happened far too fast for Gabriel to comprehend it, far too fast for him to react in any other way besides blind shock. He watched with wide eyes and a gaping mouth as tendrils shot from the water and coiled themselves around Jack’s arms and torso. Right before he was yanked below the water’s surface, Gabriel felt the man’s grip tighten on his forearm before he was wrenched away.

       Jerking away and falling back, Gabriel kicked away from the water until he found himself backed up against a tree. Heaving in air as he watched the water bubble where Jack had been dragged under, Gabriel pushed himself away from the tree and back towards the water. Scrambling to the edge, he looked down into the rippling water, now calming. After a brief pause, the water began to bubble again.

       “Jack?!” Leaning further over the water, Gabriel couldn’t jerk back in time when the tendrils shot up and coiled around his arms. Tangling up his body and around his neck, he tried to pull back, failing miserably as they dragged him from the grassy bank and into the water.

       He thrashed, and wailed, his cry muffled by the water as he looked up, watching the light from the surface vanish. 

       It was at this point that Gabriel would sit up, gasping for air and grasping at his throat. Drenched in sweat, Gabriel would look around the room frantically, eyes searching for those tendrils only to be met with the familiarity of his darkened bedroom.

       Struggling to get his breathing under control, Gabriel took in a deep breath and rubbed his face. Letting out a ragged sigh, he sagged in place and sat there in the dark for what felt like hours before the call of sleep was once again beckoning him.

       Laying himself back down and doing his best to get comfortable, Gabriel allowed his eyes to flutter shut. In a matter of minutes, he was asleep, but no matter how many times he woke up and fell back asleep, the dream came for him again and again.

       No matter what, Jack was always there, and he was always at peace until Gabriel was close enough to touch him. Each time, Jack would reach out and grab him, and upon contact, the tendrils were there to drag Jack away, kicking and screaming for Gabriel to help him.

       The sound of his cries and the look of utter fear in those beautiful blue orbs felt all too real... Jack’s crushing grip on his wrist or hand hurt far too real.

       No matter what, the dreams always ended the same, with this mysterious man named Jack being dragged off the moment he asked for help. Being dragged someplace too fast and far for Gabriel to make chase, and he had tried. Multiple times he had tried, running after Jack, calling his name while following his cries. But it had all seemed in vane. When Jack got out of sight, his cries could still be heard echoing in the forest around him, but Gabriel could no longer find any trace of him. That hadn’t stopped him from running through the brush for what felt like hours, calling to this man who constantly appeared to him every single night. 

       But he could dream of nothing else but Jack, calling to him.

       Plagued by these dreams for weeks at a time, Gabriel was left exhausted and irritated during his daily duties. He would pace, only to stop and stare out of the large glass window and stare out over the vast forest that surrounded his kingdom.

       “You look like hell.” Ana’s voice suddenly sounded from behind Gabriel and he half turned to meet her gaze. Somewhat basked in silhouette, Gabriel’s eyes looked sunken and his face worn as he turned back to stare out the window. His shoulder rose and fell as he sighed, hearing his knight commander shift closer to him. “It’s the dreams, isn’t it?” That had Gabriel glancing over his shoulder again.

       “It’s always the dreams.” Ana was much closer now, perhaps only three feet away when Gabriel turned back to the window. His eyes scanned the tree tops and then flicked upwards to the large mountain in the distance. “There is  _ something _ out there. He’s trying to tell me something. But what… or where?” Looking down at his right wrist, Gabriel rubbed the bruise that had formed on the skin in the shape of a hand print.

       “Who?” 

       “Jack.” Turning to face his knight commander again, he hadn’t been the least bit surprised to see the confusion on her face. “He’s the man who keeps showing up in my dreams. He’s the  _ only _ person who shows up in them. I didn’t understand, I still don’t understand what it means, but he keeps coming to me and asking me to help him.”

       “Have you told anybody else about these dreams?” Stepping to stand beside Gabriel, Ana tried to follow his gaze out the window. 

       “No, I know how foolish it sounds, even now as I tell you. I know it sounds crazy, and a king spouting the things that I am right now would not be good for the people or this kingdom. You’re the only one I can trust with this.” 

       “Flattering.” Grunting and sighing, Ana leaned against the sill of the window and crossed her arms. “Well, to help get your mind off of it and onto other things, another group of scouts have gone missing along the northern forest line. It’s the second group in the last three months to vanish without a trace. The locals who live outside the walls insist that it’s cursed, but it’s nonsense, if you ask me.” She grunted and shook her head. “If I had to guess it’s just a well-organized group of rogues picking off the new recruits. I’ve increased group numbers and sent out a scouting team to see if they can find any trace of them. In the meantime, I figured I should give you the report.”

       “Thank you.” Looking out towards the northern forest, Gabriel squinted. It looked identical to the rest of the forest surrounding the area outside of the fact it was much closer to the mountain’s base. “Up the night guard as well, have patrols out past the walls and against the forest line as well. If this continues to happen, we will discuss further action.”

       Nodding, Ana bowed slightly at Gabriel before exiting the room, leaving Gabriel to once again start his pacing. 

 

* * *

 

He tossed and turned in bed, kicking at the sheets and mumbling to himself every now and again. He would huff and his face would scrunch as his subconscious once again had him wandering through that familiar forest area. 

       As per usual in this dream state, it didn’t take him long to reach that waterfall, and as usual, Jack was there. This time, though, Jack was sitting atop the grassy bank, leaning back on his hands lazily. Dressed in a loose white shirt and down slacks, his pants had been cuffed slightly.  His legs had been dipped into the water and his head was hanging back, a small smile curving his lips as he soaked up some of the summer sun. 

       Right on cue, Jack glanced in the king’s direction when he had gotten close enough to him. His smile widened slightly as he watched Gabriel push through the brush towards him, no hesitation this time. Instead, he makes his way over to Jack and quietly sits down by his side. Taking in a deep breath, he sighs, not looking at Jack’s sweet face just yet but instead keeping his eyes trained on the soft ripples of the water.  

       Upon finally looking up at Jack, Gabriel noticed that his head was tilted back again, eyes shut. That sweet and all too perfect smile once again curved on his lips. 

       Swallowing hard, Gabriel found himself ogling the man, taking in all of his little features he had missed before. He allowed his eyes to wander downwards until he noticed the lace keeping the deep V of Jack’s shirt closed was loosely undone, revealing part of his collar. 

       Swallowing hard again, Gabriel tore his gaze away and just shook his head. 

       “Jack,” Gabriel managed to say after a long pause. He heard Jack stir beside him, no doubt sitting up to listen and look at him. “I don’t know… I don’t understand what I’m supposed to do.” For weeks, months even, he had wracked his brain to try and figure all of this out, but nothing had come to him. Would it ever? This was just a dream after all, as much as he wanted it to be real and physical, it always ended as a dream. What  _ was _ he supposed to do to make it all stop?

       Reaching up and rubbing his tired face, Gabriel just shook his head into his palm before finally turning towards Jack. Nearly jerking back when he realized Jack had been mere inches from his face, Gabriel blinked rapidly. 

       Those beautifully soft lips were dangerously close to his, so close even that Gabriel could swear he could feel Jack’s body heat radiating against him. 

       Licking his lips, Gabriel felt his cheeks flush hotter than they had ever done so before. Only when Jack shifts slightly closer does he suddenly feel like he about to reach boiling point.

       Only when Gabriel had caught the movement of a dark tendril slithering through the grass did he snap from his daze. 

       As always, the tendrils found their way to Jack’s body, coiling around his arms and torso tightly, ready to snatch him away like every other time. 

       “No!” Gabriel howled, grabbing into Jack’s arm right as he was yanked back into the brush. “No!” Finding himself being yanked back through the brush with Jack, Gabriel kept an iron grip on Jack’s forearm. “Jack!” Dragged far faster than humanly possible, Gabriel tried to look up, failing as each time he tried to open his eyes he was smacked in the face with a new bush he had been dragged through. Though no matter how hard he was dragged or how hard the bushes and branches pelted him, he kept his grip on Jack’s arm, refusing to let him vanish this time. 

       Feeling like he had been dragged for several minutes, Gabriel suddenly felt his body taking a hard turn. He wailed when his grip on Jack’s arm finally slipped and he was flung into the distance. 

       Body bursting from the bushes into a clearing, Gabriel grunted each time his body connected and bounced off the ground. Eventually, he came to a rolling stop on his back, groaning and coughing a few times as he tried to regain his bearings. 

       Giving himself a moment to make sure his dream self was still in one piece, he rolled onto his side and stood up. As he brushed the leaves and twigs from his clothing, he looked around the large clearing. 

       The area was new, one Gabriel had never found himself in before while wandering what seemed to be a looping universe. He’d expected to be dumped off back at the waterfall, but instead he found himself in a large, almost perfectly circular clearing. What had really caught Gabriel’s eye though was what was in the direct center of the clearing. 

       A statue. 

       Upon moving closer, Gabriel felt his heart skip a beat. From what he could tell, it appeared to be a stone statue of Jack just below the mountain’s base, posed here in this clearing. As Gabriel tried to move even closer to it to confirm what he was seeing, something snagged his left boot. He staggered and looked back, eyes widening as the tendrils were advancing up his legs faster than he could fight them off.

       Looking back at the statue and reaching for it, Gabriel tried to call out Jack’s name, but his feet were swept out from under him, and he landed harshly on his side. 

       “Jack!” Rolling onto his stomach and reaching for the statue, Gabriel cried out again. Throwing out his hand towards the statue, he watched as tendrils wrapped around his arm, his hands, and then his eyes.

 

* * *

 

Thrashing in bed a few moments before suddenly sitting up and heaving in a deep breath of air, Gabriel looked around his room frantically. His hands has unconsciously rubbed up and down his bare chest, making sure that the tendrils had not been dragged out of his dream world into reality. Thankfully, they had not. 

       Kicking his jostled sheets from the bed and getting up, Gabriel paced the room for a few minutes before stopping by the large glass window. As he ran his hand through his sweat slicked hair, his eyes wandered towards the mountain.

**There** .

       Turning on his heels and making a straight shot for his closet, Gabriel shoved aside all of his royal clothing in favor of a work down cloak and slacks. Quickly pulling them on, Gabriel moved towards the corner of the room were his sword had been balanced. Taking it and looking the leather strap through his belt loop, he rushed from the room. Moving through the castle as quickly and as quietly as possible, Gabriel made his way down into the stables. Quickly pulling his horse from its stall and saddling it up, he threw his leg over it’s back and spurred it towards the stables opening. 

       “Gabriel?” Ana’s voice sounded suddenly to his left, and as Gabriel glanced up to one of the watchtowers, he could see Ana already making her way down to him. “Gabriel!” She shouted at him as she ran down the stairs, arms spread wide in an attempt to block the horses path. “Where do you think you’re going!” But before she could even finish her sentence, Gabriel had blown by her in a full gallop. “Gabriel!” Ana called out to him, her cap flapping behind her as she watched her king ride off past the main gates and over the bridge leading towards the northern forest. 

 

* * *

 

It must have been close to sunrise, because when Gabriel had looked up and between the thick trease, he could see the soft hint of pink tinting the early morning sky. He didn’t even know what time it had been when he stormed from the castle, all that mattered at the moment was getting to where he needed to be. Plus, the longer he walked his horse down the path into the thicker part of the forest, the less sunlight he could see. 

       Upon entering the thickest part of the forest, Gabriel flipped his hood back and spurred his horse on faster. Directing it onto the path leading to the base of the mountain, he galloped onward.

       It had taken Gabriel only about thirty minutes to get to the place he had been looking for, the  _ waterfall _ . Upon dismounting his horse and walking over to the small grassy bank he remembered Jack sitting on, Gabriel scanned the area.

       Unlike in his dreams, Jack was nowhere to be seen. A part of him felt that if he just glanced in a different direction Jack would be there, smiling at him like he always did. But not matter which way he looked, it was just him and his horse. 

       “Jack?” Voice echoing slightly, Gabriel tilted his head and tried to listen for some response, but instead all he heard was his horse shift beside him.

       Maybe this was a fool’s errand, maybe he was losing his mind. Here he was, in the middle of nowhere, calling to a figment of his imagination, utterly convinced that it was real.

       Taking in a deep breath, Gabriel glanced at his horse, now grazing on some of the grass before turning back around and walking through the brush. Walking in the direction Jack had been dragged in his previous dream, Gabriel trudged on. 

       He walked for decent amount of time, pausing only briefly to scan the area before progressing again. He’d come close to turning around but his skin had started to tingle. It was a strange sensation, something telling him to keep going, to not give up, and within the next few steps, Gabriel had entered a clearing.

       As he was brushing himself off, he looked up, and right away his eyes locked onto the thing he had been looking for. 

       The statue. 

       Right where it had been in his dreams, it was here, in the physical world. The only thing Gabriel had noticed that was different about it was the fact that it had been covered in moss and ivy. As if it had been sitting there for quite time time, nature had taken upon thriving on it. It had been hard to tell just how long it had been here considering Gabriel had never wandered into the forests on his own accord, but it  _ was _ here and if his dreams had been anything to go on, it had been for  _ months _ .

       Cautiously, Gabriel approached the statue, one hand on the hilt of his blade while his eyes searched the ground for any sign of those tendrils. When he was about a foot from the statue, Gabriel paused in front of it.

       The rising sun soaked the statues face in a beautiful pink glow as it rose higher and higher into the sky. Slowly, the statue’s features were revealed in the light, and Gabriel felt his heart flip in his chest. 

       It was Jack’s sweet fact, cast in stone and attached to what Gabriel could make out was the armor or a knight. At no point in any of Gabriel’s dreams had he seen Jack dressed in armor, but now that he thought about it, Jack had worn the standard white shirt and slacks that often went as padding under the armor. 

       Jack’s face wasn’t as peaceful looking as it had been either, instead, his expression was twisted into something akin to terror. Not only that, but the pose he was in seemed like he was in the middle of battle. His feet were spread apart and his hand was clenched tight around the hilt of his half drawn sword. As if right in the middle of getting ready to strike, he was silenced.

       Stepping a few inches closer, Gabriel reached out with a tentative hand towards Jack’s cheek. Hesitating and allowing his palm to hover an inch away, he finally allowed his hand settle. 

       Running his thumb under Jack’s eye, Gabriel could feel the grit of the stone against his thumb. He frowned at how cold Jack felt, and then felt his heart tug again. This was all so crazy. It was just a statue, wasn’t it? This was just a landmark of some kind, the castle hadn’t been that far away after all. There had to be a reason this was here and there had to be a reason Gabriel was here. It couldn’t just be a statue,  _ Jack _ just couldn’t be a statue.

       No, this wasn’t right, Jack had felt so  _ real _ . The way he looked at Gabriel, the way he grabbed him and pleaded with him. This couldn’t be it. 

       Sliding his thumb down and running it over Jack’s stone lips, Gabriel swallowed hard. He could still feel the heat from Jack in his dreams radiating against him from being so close. How deep down he wanted to bridge that gap and just… kiss him. What compelled him, he didn’t know, but Jack was the only person that seemed to enchant him. 

       Glancing over his shoulder and looking around the clearing to make sure he was alone, Gabriel looked back at Jack and leaned in. 

       Bringing his lips only centimeters away from Jack’s stone ones, Gabriel hesitated only a moment before he leaned in and locked lips with the statue. 

       After a moment, he leaned back, his eyes searching Jack’s face for anything, but his expression remained. 

       Frowning and feeling his heart sink deeper than it ever had, Gabriel stepped back, his shoulders sagging. 

       Maybe Jack  _ was _ just a statue.

       Staring at Jack a moment longer, Gabriel turned and whistled for his horse. Moments later it came trotting from the bushes, coming to a pause in front of Gabriel.

       As Gabriel grabbed onto the saddle and stuck a single foot in a stirrup, a loud cracking noise sounded from behind him. It startled the horse, and it jerked it’s head up when a second loud crumble sounded, and Gabriel turned around.

       Eyes wide, Gabriel watched as a large crack had formed across Jack’s face. As he stared, the crack grew larger, curving down Jack’s armor and splintering across his body. Chunks of stone started to peel away, and to Gabriel’s utter shock, color was revealed under them. 

       The beautiful metallic color of armor glistened in the sunlight as the stone fell away, and as pieces started to fleck from Jack’s face, his golden hair nearly glowed. 

       The statue suddenly leaned to one side, stone legs now moving backwards and staggering as more pieces flecked off. As more and more of the hidden body were revealed, Jack staggered back, falling.

       Pushing from his horse, Gabriel lunged toward the falling body, arms out as he caught Jack hard against his chest. Heavy and still covered in shedding stone, they toppled to the ground.  Struggling to sit up, Gabriel cradled Jack in his arms, watching as the stone slid from his face and throat. 

       In a matter of seconds, Jack’s body jerked and he arches in Gabriel’s arms, gasping for air as if he had been holding his breath for far too long. His hands are moving, flailing about before they are latching onto the front of Gabriel’s cloak for purchase. His eyes are wide, wild even as they look around frantically, terribly disoriented. 

       “I’ve got you. I’ve got you.” Gabriel cooed, rocking with Jack as the last bits of stone fell from his armor. “You’re alright. You’re safe now. You’re safe.” It took a moment for Jack’s breathing to settle and his frantic eyes to finally settle on Gabriel’s face. “You’re alright.” 

       “King… Gabriel?” Voice hoarse, Jack reached up with a trembling hand and touched the side of Gabriel’s face. Almost in as much disbelief as Gabriel, his mouth wobbled. “You came for me.” A dopey smile formed on his ragged features. 

Feeling his heart grown ten times the size at the sight, Gabriel had to blink a few times to keep his eyes from sparkling at the sight of the utterly handsome man in his arms. 

       “Wait,” Jack’s smile vanished and instead a look of fear took over. “T-the Witch.” Struggling in Gabriel’s arms, Jack felt Gabriel tug him close and hug him. “She… she’s-” He settled when he felt Gabriel’s hand rub along his back.

       “Don’t worry about that right now.” Looking around just in case, Gabriel whistled for his horse again. “Let’s just get you out of here and back home.” Pulling one of Jack’s arms around his shoulders, Gabriel hauled Jack to his feet. It hadn’t surprised him that Jack struggled to stand and walk. It hadn’t mattered, as Gabriel’s horse was right there and he helped haul Jack up onto it’s back. 

       Mounting the horse next, Gabriel felt Jack lean hard against his back, his weak arms now wrapping around Gabriel’s hips. His grip was weak, but it would keep him from falling off on the journey back to the castle. 

       “Home?” Jack said as he rested his tired cheek against Gabriel’s shoulder.

       “Yes, home.” Yanking on the reins, Gabriel gave one last look in the clearing. All that was left no was the rubble of where Jack had once been trapped by the Witch. With no sign of her, it would have to be a battle for another day. 

       Spurring his horse on, Gabriel bolted from this cursed place as fast as he could, Jack now safely at his side, utterly exhausted, but finally safe. 

       Which left Gabriel to wonder as they galloped along the path, what would he dream about next?

**Author's Note:**

> Happy New Year


End file.
